John Kerry's Irangate?

Jerome R. Corsi, a Harvard Ph.D., is a WND senior staff writer. He has authored many books, including No. 1 N.Y. Times best-sellers "The Obama Nation" and "Unfit for Command." Corsi's latest book is "Partners in Crime."

On Monday, Oct. 18, 2004, Hassan Nemazee, an Iranian-American, one of John Kerry’s top fund-raisers, was deposed in New York City. Under oath, Nemazee acknowledged that he has raised over $500,000 for the Kerry presidential campaign.

Iran had slipped into the first presidential debate virtually unnoticed. Near the end of the debate, John Kerry restated his position that the United States should supply Iran with nuclear fuel. Kerry said:

I think the United States should have offered the opportunity to provide the nuclear fuel, test them, see whether or not they were actually looking for it for peaceful purposes.

Alarm bells should have been sounding for any listener who cared about international peace or the security of Israel. The Islamic government ruling Iran is by all rational analyses a rogue, terror-supporting, mullah-dominated regime with a history of suppressing freedom with a fierce hand of violence. This is the same Iranian regime that held our diplomats hostage for 444 days under President Carter.

These mad Mullahs have sworn death to Israel – a policy they have emphasized by openly funding the terrorist organizations Hezbollah and Hamas, known for sending suicide bombers into Israel. The 9-11 commission’s report devotes pages 240-241 to a section describing the “assistance from Hezbollah and Iran to al-Qaida.” Even today, Iran sends insurgents across the border into Iraq to cause instability and attack American troops.

Yet, Sen. Kerry boldly states he wants to give these international criminals free access to nuclear fuel, all under the presumption that they will keep their word and use the uranium for peaceful purpose only?

Under oath, even Mr. Nemazee, John Kerry’s top Iranian fund-raiser, completely repudiated John Kerry’s policy. Mr. Nemazee testified that Sen. Kerry had not asked his opinion, but if the senator had asked, Mr. Nemazee would have advised that the Iranian Islamic regime cannot be trusted but to have any intention other than to build nuclear weapons. Mr. Nemazee freely agreed that the current Iranian government is a terror-exporting regime, and he openly stated his wish for regime change.

What possibly could be going on here? Did Nemazee back the wrong candidate? Please, somebody give Mr. Nemazee a telephone. He needs to call the candidate before Sen. Kerry makes a horrible mistake and gives the mad mullahs nuclear fuel.

Or, was Nemazee not stating his true position under oath? Could we be experiencing a repeat of Bill Clinton’s infamous Chinagate? Was Kerry willing to trade access to nuclear technology and nuclear fuel in return for generous campaign contributions? These are important questions. Maybe the truth was spoken by Nemazee’s money, not the words he uttered at his deposition. Maybe Mr. Nemazee had achieved with Sen. Kerry’s nuclear policy statement in the debate result he had intended.

One thing was for sure: The liberal, mainstream media were nowhere in sight. ABC, NBC, CBS, the New York Times, and the Washington Post wanted to be as far away as possible from the Nemazee deposition … a story that might taint their predetermined candidate.

How did Mr. Nemazee’s deposition come about? He started it by suing Iranian freedom-advocate, Aryo Pirouznia, the leader of the Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran. Nemazee charged Mr. Pirouznia with defamation for stating that Mr. Nemazee was an agent of the Iranian Islamic republic. Mr. Pirouznia filed a countersuit, locking Nemazee into a deposition. A judge in Texas, where the suit was filed, set the deposition for a date before the November election, despite the objections of Nemazee’s leader.

Make no mistake about it: Iran is a clear and present danger to the world. Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has urged his country to develop a nuclear weapon as a top priority, exhorting his followers that, “We must have two bombs ready to go in January or you are not Muslims.”

Iran’s former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, claims Iran has already developed a satellite-launching rocket with a range of 2,000 kilometers – more than enough to reach Israel. Right now, Iran’s Russian-constructed nuclear power plant at Bushehr is completed, waiting only for the delivery of nuclear fuel to be operational. The nuclear fuel need to operate Bushehr would be about half the way there to being weapons grade.

The moment Iran has in its possession a nuclear weapon capable of being unleashed on Israel, the entire calculation in the Middle East changes. Israel will immediately fear for survival and millions of Christians all around the world will be rushing to their Bibles to reread the story of the apocalypse. A nuclear-armed Iran, sitting on an estimated 40 percent of the world’s known oil reserves might well venture into petroleum blackmail, with the price of oil reaching $100 or even $200 a barrel.

Should John Kerry and the pro-Iran lobby in the United States have its way, and should we normalize diplomatic relations with Iran, instantly the terror-supporting regime could take advantage of relaxations in Patriot Act protections, using the diplomatic cover as an easy excuse to slip terrorists more readily across our borders.

We are now sounding the alarm bell. Before Americans vote for president, just a few days from now, we need answers. Why, Sen. Kerry, is your policy for Iran any more secure than the nearly identical policy the last Democratic president followed for Korea? If Mr. Nemazee wants to stand by his deposition, we now have a videotape of his testimony ready to play for the world.

We will keep you posted as to where the streaming video can be viewed and we stand ready to get Mr. Nemazee in touch with Sen. Kerry so he can explain to his candidate of choice the tragic mistake the senator is ready to make.